Hammock and stretcher or spreader therefor.



I. E. PALMER.

HAMMOCK AND STRETGHER OR SPREADER THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.15, 1910.

964,52, Patented July.12,1910.

THEJVORRIS PETERS co.. WASNINGION, n. c.

ISAAC E. PALMER, OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB. TO THE I. E.PALMER 00., OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

HAMMOCK AND STRETCHER OR SPREADER THEREFOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 12, 1910.

Application filed April 15, 1910. Serial No. 555,585.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC E. PALMEm'a citizen of the United States,residing at Middletown, in the county of Middlesex and State ofConnecticut, have invented an Improvement in Hammocks and Stretchers orSpreaders Therefor, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like numerals on thedrawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to hammocks and stretchers or spreaders therefor.

In order that the principle of the invention may readily be understood,I have disclosed a single embodiment thereof in the accompanyingdrawing, wherein- Figure l is a. plan view of the foot end of a hammockembodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a. transverse section upon an enlargedscale of a portion of the foot end of the hammock shown in Fig. 1; andFig. 3 is a similar view of a slightly modified form of my invention.

Hammock stretchers or spreaders as commonly employed are applied to thehead and foot ends of a hammock and are usually unitary andsubstantially rigid. lVhen the occupant of a hammock provided with suchspreaders at either the head or foot end or both, changes his positionin the hammock, one or both of the spreaders shifts as an entirety. If,therefore, one end of a spreader be tilted up, the opposite end istilted down and conversely. In other words, a change in position of anypart of the spreader necessitates a change in position of the entirespreader and consequent deflection of the hammock throughout its entirewidth to the discomfort of the occupant. It is particu larly desirablethat the contour or outline of the hammock at the foot end may bechanged at one or more points without changing the entire contour, as,for example, when the occupant shifts the position of his feet or turnsfrom side to side.

In accordance with my invention, I provide at one or both ends, butparticularly at the foot end of the hammock, a sectional spreader, themembers whereof are wholly disconnected from each other, excepting in sofar as they may be connected by the clue cords. Preferably, the spreaderis inserted in a transverse pocket and the ends of the sections aresufiiciently close together so that the strain of hammock support isevenly distributed throughout the entire width of the hammock. Owing tothe fact that the sections of the spreader are disconnected, they mayassume very abrupt angles with respect to each other to conform to theposition of the occupant. 13y reason of the employment of thedisconnected spreader sections, the hammock body is permitted to bag oryield under the weight of the foot of the occu- )illlt withoutdisturbing or altering the general outline of the hammock through itsentire width. Moreover, the hammock body adjacent the sectional spreadermay bag downward at one point and upward at another point, or in otherwords the hammock may assume an irregular transverse outline to conformto the strain to which it is subjected at various points transverselythereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the body of the hammock isrepresented at 1. To one or both ends thereof are attached clue orsuspension cords 2 extending to a supporting ring 3, or if desired astretcher bar t may be employed interme diate the hammock body and thesupporting ring. At either the head or foot end of the hammock or both,but particularly at the foot end, I provide a sectional spreader,preferably inserted in a pocket, indicated in dotted lines at 5 in Fig.1.

The sectional spreader may be constructed in any suitable way, thesections thereof being disconnected from each other, excepting in so faras they may be connected by the clue cords. In Fig. 2, Ihave indicatedone form of sectional spreader, the same being composed of a series ofwire links 6 having eyes 7 at opposite ends. The supporting cords 2 areconnected to the spreader sections by cords 8-8 as clearly indicated inFigs. 1 and 2. If desired, a single cord 8 may extend from side to sideof the hammock and be successively knotted or otherwise attached to theclue cords 2 and the spreader sections 6, or the cords 8 of one spreadersection may be wholly distinct and independent of those connected to theother sections or certain of them. For simplicity of stringing thehammock, however, I preferably employ a cord 8 extending from one edgeof the hammock to the opposite edge, and therefore passing from onespreader section to the next, as indicated at 99 in Fig. 2, the saidcord 8 being passed through the hammock body and through the eyes 7 ofthe spreader sections. The said spreader sections 6 are preferablyclosely adj acent each other, so that the strain of hammock support isborne by substantially all portions of the hammock transversely thereof.It is not necessary that each spreader section be connected to the cluecords at a plurality of points, as the clue cords or the cords 8 may beconnected to each spreader section at but a single point, but it isdesirable that the strain of hammock support be transmitted by thespreader sections throughout substantially the entire width of thehammock.

In Fig. 3, I have shown a slightly modified form of my invention.Therein each spreader section is formed of a preferably wooden strip 10having holes 1111 at opposite ends for the reception of the cords 8S.The ends of adjacent spreader sections are close together, so that thestrain of hammock support is distributed as previously described. Thesaid spreader sections 10 are preferably inserted in a single transversepocket, as previously described, and may be supported in any suitablemanner from the clue cords. It will be apparent from the foregoingdescription that either the head or foot end of the hammock or both, butparticularly the foot end, is so supported by the sectional spreadersthat any part of the hammock at such end or ends may be altered inconformity to the position of the occupant without necessitating achange in the entire contour of the hammock end. Moreover the strain ofhammock support is by the sectional spreaders distributed throughoutsubstantially the entire width of the hammock. The spreaders are cheaplyand readily manufactured and may readily be inserted in the usualtransverse pockets provided at one or both ends thereof.

Having thus described one illustrative embodiment of my invention, Idesire it to be understood that although specific terms are employedthey are used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the followingclaims.

Claims.

1. A hammock having at an end thereof a transverse pocket, a spreadertherein consisting of end sections and intermediate sections, suspensioncords connected to each of said sections and also connecting saidsections together, and constituting the only connection therebetween.

2. A hammock having at an end thereof a transverse pocket, a spreadertherein consisting of end sections and one or more intermediatesections, and suspension cords penetrating said pocket and connected toeach of said sections, whereby the strain of hammock suspension isdistributed among and partially borne by each of said sections.

3. Ahammock havingasectional spreader and stringing means for suspendingthe hammock and constituting the only means for connecting said sectionstogether.

4. A hammock having at an end thereof a transverse pocket, a spreadertherein consisting of end sections and a plurality of intermediatesections, said sections being out of contact with each other, andsuspension cords connected to said end sections and to one or moreintermediate sections, whereby the strain of hammock support is borne bysaid sections.

5. A hammock having a transverse pocket and a sectional spreaderpositioned therein and hammock stringing means for support ing thehammock and also for connecting said sections together.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ISAAC E. PALMER.

Witnesses:

FRED E. FOWLER, GEO. C. HAINS.

